Born in Constanta, Romania in 1987, Loyalfans co-founder Eduard A. Braileanu followed the path of many successful entrepreneurs, leaving college to create a brand-new business.
After growing a thriving cam studio company that opened several locations throughout Romania, he then set his sights on the indie content market, building the Loyalfans platform that launched in 2019.
So far, our recruitment has been 100% word-of-mouth, and our retention is based on having an incredible, flexible, customizable, stable site.
Now, with a fast-expanding pool of passionate content creators and their adoring fans, the brand is ramping up its ambitions with talent outreach, business partnerships and technological innovations to seize ever greater market share.
Above all, the team behind the scenes is laser-focused on providing consummate support to its members, to cultivate that most precious of resources from fans and creators: loyalty.
Dive in and get to know Braileanu as he discusses the past, present and future aspirations of his cutting-edge company.
XBIZ: Give us a bit of your own professional background and what inspired you to launch Loyalfans.
BRAILEANU: I left college and started my first business in 2010, opening a cam studio in my hometown. Over the next three years, I opened locations throughout Romania… but I was always wondering what’s next, both for the models and creators I was working with, as well as for myself. This was when the idea for Loyalfans began to take shape.
I began working with a team of programmers in 2014, steadily cultivating the concept of an all-inclusive platform that would enable meaningful, seamless, customizable connections beneficial to creators and fans. Then, in 2016 — all while balancing my studios with platform development — I started looking for investment partners in the industry.
I eventually made my way to the U.S. for a trade show in Miami, literally bringing nothing more than a backpack, a gaming laptop and this idea I had. It was through pure luck that I met with the owner of the No. 1 clip site in the industry.
I was able to secure a partner with business ethics and regard for creators that matched my own, as well as funding that would facilitate continued development of the platform. We have been grinding it out with passion, care and a small but mighty team of geniuses ever since!
XBIZ: What significant milestones have you reached as a company since you hit the ground running?
BRAILEANU: The number of creators that have put their trust in Loyalfans is really significant to us — and that number is growing steadily month by month at a pace we are very proud of. Loyalfans welcomes all forms of positive, consensual creative expression, and the fact that we see such a broad scope of creators coming to the site — from new to experienced, from so many different backgrounds and with varied expertise — well, that’s very significant to us!
We want the Loyalfans space to be a place where any creator can pick up the tools (so to speak) and make it their own, utilizing this highly flexible, innovative and functional platform in a manner that works best for individual brands, goals and even worldviews. The fact that so many creators have put their trust in our platform — with more and more coming each day! — lets us know that we’re headed in the right direction.
XBIZ: How does Loyalfans distinguish itself in the increasingly competitive premium social media market, as far as unique features and technology?
BRAILEANU: In terms of features and technology, Loyalfans has developed many unique tools. Our exclusive Shout Outs feature, for instance, enables creators to offer short, personalized, customizable greetings for their fans. Think Cameo, but with sexiness permitted. We’ve also found ways to refine features already standard in the space, such that they’re more advantageous to creators. On a single Loyalfans timeline, for instance, creators can offer free and paid content, as well as content that’s reserved for subscribers only.
This is all well and good, but I think our most unique feature is our support. We have a support team that’s listening, responding and doing their best to meet creators’ needs head-on. If a creator needs a feature, we work to build it. If a creator has a note, we listen and make changes where necessary. We learn so much from the creators that use our platform. In turn, we’re constantly working to refine the site to make it better. Feedback is one way by which spaces evolve and improve, and this includes technological developments.
XBIZ: Talk about your educational outreach to talent, such as the weekly Q&A series with Victoria Raye, and the value of empowering performers.
BRAILEANU: From a technology standpoint, we do everything in our power to make sure that our platform is leveraging the most cutting-edge, innovative features in the space. But what good is a great tool if creators don’t know it’s there or don’t know how to utilize it to its fullest capacity?
Our Q&A series is intended to give our creators regular access to a Loyalfans expert that is also using the platform herself — the incredible Victoria Raye — as well as to members of our support and social teams. Creators can attend and simply soak up information, as well as chat and learn from peers in a consistent, agenda-free setting that is always there for them. This event series is just one way that Loyalfans seeks to connect creators with everything the platform has to offer, providing enough practical understanding so that they can then get creative and use the tools in their own unique ways.
It’s our hope that striving to give creators the ability to harness the power of the site, as well as having excellent support for creators at all levels, empowers creators to then maximize their own capacity. When you are familiar with all the tools in front of you and you feel confident in the foundation you’re building your brand upon, then you can feel confident in just going for it — or, as we hope, feel empowered to succeed on your own terms!
XBIZ: What has the community response been to your special events, which range from "International Content Creators Day" to contests like #ShoutOutLove?
BRAILEANU: Being an online content creator can be extremely isolating. Though the input and correspondence from fans is essentially 24/7, for creators, peer interaction within the industry can often be lacking or outright missing… and never has this been more pronounced than it has been during the past 18 months or so.
Our special events like #ShoutOutLove and “International Content Creators Day” were intended to be fun contests and initiatives, yes (who doesn’t love a contest or participating in a game?!), but the wider purpose was to find ways to show appreciation and build community... And not just the community within Loyalfans — community within our industry in general.
Adult entertainment is vast and diverse, but each person in the business is linked in a powerful, significant way. Yes, we’re all humans — but we’re all also members of a community that (for whatever puritanical and misconceived reasons) is still set aside from others. We want all creators to know that they are loved, invaluable members of this community. This message is the impetus behind all our special events, and creators really seem to appreciate feeling those vibes!
XBIZ: Discuss how you've teamed up with BranditScan and what that entails for creators.
BRAILEANU: One of the most demoralizing and potentially devastating things that can happen to a person is the devaluation of their labor — and unauthorized use of a person’s likeness, brand and work is an example of exactly that. Add to this the powerlessness in general that a person feels when they are faced with the overwhelming and complicated task of trying to combat unauthorized use, and... well, let’s just say that we’ve all witnessed the devastating impact this can have.
We saw that BranditScan was doing something to help creators with this massive problem — and since we as a company are all about helping, we reached out! We were able to come up with our integration solution, which is something we’re all pleased with. Most importantly, creators seem to be happy with the information and service. In many ways, this is another example of what I was discussing before — working to make sure that there’s awareness and understanding of tools, functionality and opportunity is often the most significant step.
XBIZ: How do you drive traffic to the site, either via ad networks, organic social media marketing or other avenues?
BRAILEANU: Traffic is always a challenge for adult sites, and we are currently utilizing ad networks that are friendly to the adult space, as well as social media.
With fan sites, we know that it’s always about the creators’ fans, so we always encourage creators to help by alerting their fans about the things they offer on Loyalfans. On the backend, we work to make sure that our environment is optimized to create the best fan experience possible. This way, when these fans do arrive, they can simply enjoy their favorite creators without worry or hiccups. We take the fan experience as seriously as we do the creator experience.
XBIZ: Tell us your approach to recruiting and retaining creators.
BRAILEANU: So far, our recruitment has been 100% word-of-mouth, and our retention is based on having an incredible, flexible, customizable, stable site — as well as the most dynamic and caring support team around. We are constantly reaching out to creators, doing one-on-one site demos, offering different promotional opportunities and doing everything we can to let creators know that we are here, ready to support.
All online content creators are welcome on Loyalfans. Everyone has a place at our table, and we will never alter that course or attempt to minimize or hide it. I think creators see this, and that also helps people feel comfortable putting their trust in the platform.
XBIZ: Give us a glimpse of the teamwork that goes on behind the scenes at the company. What's it like working at Loyalfans?
BRAILEANU: Working at Loyalfans is kind of like working at a family business — if said business just happened to reach around the globe! Each member of our team brings unique skills and expertise to the table, but no one person is an island. We are an “all hands on deck” kind of space where everyone’s projects and goals intersect and overlap.
As a consequence, our meetings can sometimes get a little spicy and no one is above writing (or responding to) a charged-up email at 3 a.m. on a Sunday, but this also means that no one on our team is left isolated and there’s no aspect of the enterprise of Loyalfans — from feature development to social media imagery — that every member of the team is not at least familiar with. We are all in it together, for the grind… but also for the joy!
XBIZ: What exciting features, events or plans are on the horizon for Loyalfans in 2021?
BRAILEANU: Oh, there are so many — with apps, stats and tools to help our community grow… that’s all I’ll say!
